Wednesday, March 14
Raleigh, NC
4:00 PM
North Carolina
5
at
0
NC State
Simon Soendergaard won 12-10 in a third-set tiebreaker to preserve the UNC shutout at NC State.
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Tar Heels Earn Shutout Win At No. 16 NC State
March 14, 2018 | Men's Tennis
RALEIGH, N.C. – The North Carolina men's tennis team completed a road sweep of its Triangle rivals with a 5-0 win Wednesday afternoon at NC State. The fifth-ranked Tar Heels improved to 12-3 on the spring, 3-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. No. 16 NC State fell to 10-2 in its ACC opener.
"They're a very good team," UNC coach Sam Paul said. "I liked our focus today. We came in really focused in doubles and singles and played well."
The Tar Heels are coming off a 4-3 win on Saturday at then-No. 12 Duke. The doubles point proved to be key for UNC in that one, and Carolina claimed it again against the Wolfpack with wins on Courts 1 and 2.
With a 1-0 lead on the indoor courts at J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center, the Tar Heels launched into singles and continued to roll. The first to finish was sophomore William Blumberg at No. 1. He won the first set 6-1 and took the second 6-4 when Alexis Galarneau's serve sailed long on match point.
At that point, senior Robert Kelly and junior Blaine Boyden, both of whom played their high school tennis in Raleigh (Kelly at Cardinal Gibbons and Boyden at Wakefield), led 5-4 in their second sets. Playing side-by-side on Courts 3 and 4, respectively, Boyden closed out his match with a forehand winner for a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Georgiy Malyshev and a 3-0 team lead for the Tar Heels.
On Court 3, Kelly saw his opponent, Igor Saveljic, pull even at 5-5, but the Tar Heel senior was able to again grab control and eventually win 7-5 on a service error by his opponent to clinch the match for Carolina. He and Blumberg are the reigning ACC Doubles Team of the Week after a key win at Duke Saturday, and his singles victory Wednesday sealed a sweep against Triangle rivals. "I've been a little bit low on confidence these past couple weeks so getting wins here and in doubles at Duke means a lot," Kelly said.
As the No. 5 and 6 singles matches were just starting, both were abandoned. (NC State's indoor facility has four courts, necessitating a second wave of singles starts.) But the teams finished out the No. 2 match, between UNC sophomore Simon Soendergaard and NC State's Tadas Babelis. At that point Babelis led 4-2 in the third set. It went to a tiebreaker, which Soendergaard eventually won 12-10 to preserve the shutout. "That was huge for him," Kelly said. "We all have a lot of confidence in him. We see him in practice and know how good he is."
The Tar Heels are idle until a third-consecutive road match next Friday (March 23) at Notre Dame.
No. 5 North Carolina 5, No. 16 NC State 0
Doubles
Order of match finish: (2,1)
1. #6 Blumberg/Kelly (UNC) d. #45 Saveljic/Saveljic (NCST), 6-2
2. Soendergarrd/Kiger (UNC) d. Babelis/Galarneau (NCST), 6-1
3. Boyden/Peck (UNC) v. Ogden/Malyshev (NCST), 4-5 UF
Singles
Order of match finish: (1,4,3,2)
1. #1 William Blumberg (UNC) d. #22 Alexis Galarneau (NCST), 6-1, 6-4
2. Simon Soendergaard (UNC) d. Tadas Babelis (NCST), 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (12-10)
3. #120 Robert Kelly (UNC) d. Igor Saveljic (NCST), 6-4, 7-5
4. Blaine Boyden (UNC) d. Georgiy Malyshev (NCST), 6-2, 6-4
5. Josh Peck (UNC) vs. Ivan Saveljic (NCST)
6. Mac Kiger (UNC) vs. Robert Turzak (NCST)
Records: UNC 12-3 (3-0 ACC), NC State 10-2 (0-1 ACC)
"They're a very good team," UNC coach Sam Paul said. "I liked our focus today. We came in really focused in doubles and singles and played well."
The Tar Heels are coming off a 4-3 win on Saturday at then-No. 12 Duke. The doubles point proved to be key for UNC in that one, and Carolina claimed it again against the Wolfpack with wins on Courts 1 and 2.
With a 1-0 lead on the indoor courts at J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center, the Tar Heels launched into singles and continued to roll. The first to finish was sophomore William Blumberg at No. 1. He won the first set 6-1 and took the second 6-4 when Alexis Galarneau's serve sailed long on match point.
Blumberg breaks back 4-4 in 2nd; pic.twitter.com/ZJFvADym4F
— UNC Men's Tennis (@carolinatennis) March 14, 2018
At that point, senior Robert Kelly and junior Blaine Boyden, both of whom played their high school tennis in Raleigh (Kelly at Cardinal Gibbons and Boyden at Wakefield), led 5-4 in their second sets. Playing side-by-side on Courts 3 and 4, respectively, Boyden closed out his match with a forehand winner for a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Georgiy Malyshev and a 3-0 team lead for the Tar Heels.
UNC 3 NC St 0 Boyden d. Malyshev 6-2, 6-4 pic.twitter.com/R9Q6tid8Il
— UNC Men's Tennis (@carolinatennis) March 14, 2018
On Court 3, Kelly saw his opponent, Igor Saveljic, pull even at 5-5, but the Tar Heel senior was able to again grab control and eventually win 7-5 on a service error by his opponent to clinch the match for Carolina. He and Blumberg are the reigning ACC Doubles Team of the Week after a key win at Duke Saturday, and his singles victory Wednesday sealed a sweep against Triangle rivals. "I've been a little bit low on confidence these past couple weeks so getting wins here and in doubles at Duke means a lot," Kelly said.
Cardinal Gibbons Grad Robert Kelly with this 6-5 30-30 point clinched UNC's victory at NC State pic.twitter.com/h4lZcR7VZG
— UNC Men's Tennis (@carolinatennis) March 14, 2018
As the No. 5 and 6 singles matches were just starting, both were abandoned. (NC State's indoor facility has four courts, necessitating a second wave of singles starts.) But the teams finished out the No. 2 match, between UNC sophomore Simon Soendergaard and NC State's Tadas Babelis. At that point Babelis led 4-2 in the third set. It went to a tiebreaker, which Soendergaard eventually won 12-10 to preserve the shutout. "That was huge for him," Kelly said. "We all have a lot of confidence in him. We see him in practice and know how good he is."
The Tar Heels are idle until a third-consecutive road match next Friday (March 23) at Notre Dame.
No. 5 North Carolina 5, No. 16 NC State 0
Doubles
Order of match finish: (2,1)
1. #6 Blumberg/Kelly (UNC) d. #45 Saveljic/Saveljic (NCST), 6-2
2. Soendergarrd/Kiger (UNC) d. Babelis/Galarneau (NCST), 6-1
3. Boyden/Peck (UNC) v. Ogden/Malyshev (NCST), 4-5 UF
Singles
Order of match finish: (1,4,3,2)
1. #1 William Blumberg (UNC) d. #22 Alexis Galarneau (NCST), 6-1, 6-4
2. Simon Soendergaard (UNC) d. Tadas Babelis (NCST), 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (12-10)
3. #120 Robert Kelly (UNC) d. Igor Saveljic (NCST), 6-4, 7-5
4. Blaine Boyden (UNC) d. Georgiy Malyshev (NCST), 6-2, 6-4
5. Josh Peck (UNC) vs. Ivan Saveljic (NCST)
6. Mac Kiger (UNC) vs. Robert Turzak (NCST)
Records: UNC 12-3 (3-0 ACC), NC State 10-2 (0-1 ACC)
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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